Red Rum

Red Rum is the only horse in the history of the Grand National Steeplechase to win the race three times, and to make his record more astonishing, he ran in it two other times and was second on both occasions.

Born in 1965, Red Rum was bred by Martyn Molony at Rossenarra Stud in County Kilkenny, Ireland. He had a flat racing pedigree; his dam was MaRED and his sire was QuoRUM.

Red Rum's first race was on the flat on April 7, 1967, at the very track where the Grand National is held, Aintree. He had just been bought with a second horse, Curlicue, for 400 pounds. They made their racecourse debuts in the Thursby Plate, a 5 furlong (5/8ths of a mile) sprint, and finished in a dead heat, tied for first! In his life, Red Rum ran at this track a total of seven races, won four of them and was second in the rest.

Red Rum ran for more than ten years in 100 races over fences plus a few on the flat, winning three flat races, three hurdle races, and twenty one steeplechases. Plus, he was second thirty seven times. This is a 64% in the money percentage over ten years! This horse more than paid his way and was game to the last. To make it more amazing, he had many owners, several trainers, and more than 20 different jockeys over the length of his career. His nickname was Rummie, and he had some foot problems (pedalostitis) that probably his best (and last) trainer Donald (Ginger) McCain treated by galloping him in the shallow surf of the sea. The salt water must have been good for his feet, and the sand toughened his tendons. When he started in his first Grand National in 1973, Rummie had had five wins and three seconds in his previous eight starts, so was co-favoured with top weight Crisp, the Australian-bred trained by Fred Winter. During the race, Crisp got a clear, long lead when another horse fell at the Chair, but Red Rum gained slowly and by the end, beat Crisp by three quarters of a length. It was 25 lengths back to the next horse.

In 1974, Rummie had won four races and been second three times coming up to the National. He was given top weight of 12 stone, 2 pounds (a stone is 14 pounds, so Rummie was carrying 170 pounds). Red Rum was jumping perfectly at Aintree and was in front at Becher's Brook on the second time around. Then he misjudged the fifth to last fence, but recovered well. He galloped on determinedly to beat L'Escargot by seven lengths to become the first horse since Reynoldstown (1935-6) to win the Grand National in successive years. The next month he went to Ayr and won the Scottish National, the first time the elusive double Aintree/Ayr Nationals had been achieved.

The next year, he didn't do as well in his prep races, and in the 1975 Grand National, he jumped well and ran a game race, but didn't have enough gas left to hold off L'Escargot, and came in second. In prepping for the 1976 National, he had not come in better than third place in his last eight races. This year, they put 11 stones, 10 pounds on Rummie. He jumped clean, and ran well, but was again second in this one by only 2 lengths to winner Rag Trade. In 1977, Rummie was fit and ready. He'd been trained to peak on National day as usual, and this time he looked really good. The only worry was whether the ground would be too wet for him. It was not. Rummie jumped with his usual perfection, and when the favourite fell at Becher's Brook on the second time around, Rummie took off to build up a good lead. His jockey Tommy Stack kept increasing the pace, and only Churchtown Boy was keeping up. However, at the second to last fence, Churchtown Boy hit the fence and lost momentum, and Rummie won his third Grand National by 25 lengths, the first horse ever to win three Nationals! The crowd went crazy, surrounding the winner and shouting their praise.

In 1978, he was pointed for the race again, but in the last two weeks, had an injury to his heel, and it did not clear up in time for the race. He ran more races, but by 1979 he was retired and continued on to live a life of celebrity, making appearances at charity shows, supermarket and betting shop openings, and receiving visitors at his trainer's stable. Red Rum returned to Aintree to celebrate his 30th birthday on May 3, 1995. He was humanely put down in his stall at McCain's stable on October 18 and buried that same day in a special grave next to the winning post at Aintree racetrack. Said his long time trainer, Ginger McCain, "I was very, very upset but I did what we planned years ago and managed to phone the clerk of the course at Aintree. Soon Rummy was on his last journey. Some time between 1:30 and 2:00 he was buried at the winning line on the Grand National course where he became a legend. The thought comforted me, to think of all those lovely horses racing over him to make glory days of their own."